College of St. Joseph the Worker
= combining "a bachelor’s degree in Catholic Studies and graduate trained in a trade".
URL = https://www.collegeofstjoseph.com/
Description
Theresa Civantos Barber :
"The College of St. Joseph the Worker is attracting students who want to learn a trade and earn a degree without huge debt. You might have heard about a new Catholic college in Steubenville, Ohio, that offers a degree and trade education at a very reasonable cost.
The College of St. Joseph the Worker is attracting students with the tagline, “Learn a trade, earn a degree and graduate without crippling debt.” It unites a liberal arts program in Catholic Studies with practical trade school.
The College will offer several different “tracks” for students. There’s the six-year Craftsman Track, in which students earn a bachelor’s degree in Catholic Studies and graduate trained in a trade and financially net positive.
The three-year BA Track is a continuous 36-month program in which students earn a BA in Catholic Studies and also learn the basics of all five trades offered. It’s just right for “those called to work in an office, an operating room, or a courthouse—and who still want to know their way around a workshop.”
Finally, there’s the one-year Craftsmanship Certificate course, which is a “gap year” program for those wanting to learn the basics of all five offered trades (carpentry, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and masonry) and study the fundamentals of the Catholic intellectual tradition."
Interview
With Jacob Imam, co-founder:
- "When I read about the college, the first thing I thought of was something St. Benedict wrote in his Rule: “When they live by the labor of their hands, as our fathers and the apostles did, then they are really monks.” In what ways does the College prepare men for a life of contemplation during manual labor?
JI: St. Benedict’s rule—which leads his monks into a life that seamlessly moves from the chapel to the library to the fields—is the same general model the College of St. Joseph the Worker is adopting. The three spheres of prayer, of study, and of work are ultimately totally interlinked and mutually reinforcing. The very nature of our faith, in which a central truth is that the Word became flesh and picked up a hammer, reveals this connection.
* What is the most important thing to know about the College of St. Joseph the Worker?
As our society is degrading morally, philosophically, and culturally, the way that we will recover can only be in Christ through his Holy Church and with the Sacraments.
Converting to Christ now in the 21st century will be much like the early Church’s initial conversion to Christ under Rome. We will need to lower ourselves, to assume the form of a slave, to serve our God and our neighbors to death, and to do so always in love.
The College of St. Joseph the Worker intends to play a humble part in this larger conversion—which means training students both physically and intellectually, cultivating their heads, their hearts, and their hands, for this great end."
More information
- An earlier initiative that was an inspiration, the Harmel Academy:
"A skilled tradesman can work in many disciplines, but at Harmel, we define “skilled tradesman” as “a man whose way of life is to put things in order”—in his work, in his community, and in his relationship with God. Harmel Academy is a post-secondary academy that trains men in a skilled trade and forms them in their Catholic faith."
(https://www.harmelacademy.org/)
- This one costs $28k per year and is limited to construction:
"Orange County’s Santiago Retreat Center, a 500-acre site offering retreats to Southern California’s four Catholic dioceses, has launched the Santiago Trade School.
The program offers participants an introduction to construction trades and basic formation in the Catholic Faith. Its inaugural class began with five students in September, with a second session opening to an additional 15 students in January 2024.
Students of the two-year program will be introduced to all the trade skills necessary to build a home. They work on projects at the retreat center itself and also receive spiritual formation, which includes daily Mass and the study of classic works of philosophy and theology. The daily schedule begins with morning prayer in the retreat center’s chapel, followed by breakfast and work at the center. Mass and lunch are followed by study, dinner and evening prayer, with time for socializing in the evening, followed by lights out at 11 p.m.
The goal of the program is to form good Catholics with job skills in demand in the construction industry. Tuition is $28,000 per year.?"